When Fiona Simpson was studying at Otago, the Applied Science major in Sport and Exercise Nutrition wasn't available. So Fiona completed a Bachelor in Physical Education, and a BSc in Human Nutrition, then went on to do a Postgraduate Diploma in Dietetics.
For a while Fiona worked in the Human Nutrition department and then she had an invitation from a local dietician in private practice. The dietician had established clinics and didn't want to leave her clients in the lurch when she moved on, so she asked Fiona to take over the practice. This meant clinics at Oamaru Hospital, at Marianoto and Mercy Hospitals, clinics for ACC and a couple of local Health Centres, and some sports nutrition work, which was Fiona's top passion.
“ I started working at the Academy of Sport on contract. The system has changed a lot so the funding is different now with athletes in each discipline being graded according to performance levels, and resources allocated according to that grading.“
Fiona was involved in training camps and clinics, as well as keeping up her own professional training in skin-fold analysis ( Anthropometry). When family commitments cut in, Fiona was able to work part time, fitting in her favourite kind of work around child care.
“It was too much to keep up with every area of nutrition – post-surgery, oncology, medical etc. So I focussed on the thing I loved best which was sports nutrition. There's more and more work available in sports nutrition, as people's awareness of the importance of it increases.”
Fiona does a lot of work with Rugby in Dunedin and in Invercargill. Her Invercargill work also includes netball and cycling athletes, from professionals down to novice and even youth players.
“The work is very flexible, to fit around family commitments. It works really well for me. I can pull back or increase, and if I need to I have lots of people I can refer clients to when the workload gets too high.”